Chasing Static
by VodkaWarrior
Summary: Paragon is a 22 year old woman who is fighting her hardest to survive the Apocalypse caused by the final fight between Michael and Lucifer. No one could have foreseen that from the destruction arose a virus that brought people back from the dead, and surprisingly Paragon is pretty good at killing them. She stumbles into a strange man and joins him on a journey towards a community.
1. The Burnt Cake

CHAPTER 1

He was never around much to begin with, so I guess it wasn't a big surprise when God completely split town. Humanity has never needed him more, but he was gone. Went out for a pack of smokes and has been gone for four years now. Maybe the line is just long?

Before all of this happened I never really believed in God, Demons, and Angels. Things like that just seemed like a story you told to your kids to make them behave, but wow, had I been so wrong.

Another scary realization. I admitted I was wrong. That's new.

I'll break down the shit storm that had pretty quickly progressed over the course of four years. A whole lot of daddy issues and redirected anger. It doesn't sound so bad, right? Well too bad the one with daddy issues was the archangel Lucifer, and the one with redirected anger was the archangel Michael. Since they couldn't seem to choose any other place to slap at each other, it ended the world partially. Half of the world would still be alive hadn't some freak virus arose from nowhere. There's a lot of theories about where it had come from, like the government released it to try and destroy the angels left on earth, which was probably a sham too, why would they still be here? Another theory was it manifested from Luci and Mike's angel grace, their anger forming some sort of toxic blend that a human came in contact with and went from there. Personally, I don't really give a crap how it came around, it's already here we have to deal with it.

Fortunately for me, the virus can only turn aggressive if you are bitten. It's airborne, but it stays dormant in your body until you die. By then it wont really matter anymore I suspect.

The virus itself, I suppose isn't too terrible, it doesn't do much unless it enters the bloodstream, but it's what it does to the body that is terrible. It turns you into a brain-dead flesh eating monster. Typically called Zombies, but I have not come across a single person who calls them that. Maybe we're just afraid to. Some sort of denial tactic? I hear the word Walkers thrown around a lot, so I just decided to go with that. If not calling them Zombies helps people get through the day, who am I to judge? We all have our coping mechanisms.

People are a little frantic in the new world. They're afraid to stay by themselves, and always do whatever it takes to get into the biggest group possible. Those always go downhill. People and their quest for power cant even be stomped down by the fear of dying. Hell, maybe it even makes it worse. Thinking rationally is pretty difficult for a typical person as it is. A Walker and Angel apocalypse definitely didn't help. But me? I preferred to do things my own way, and not have others slow me down. I was my own leader, and I make fast decisions without having to ask for the input of others around me. That gets people killed, and I will not be responsible for their deaths. Not anymore.

Life in the apocalypse was one of doing your best award winning rat with a machine gun impression. You scavenge for supplies and shelter fifty percent of the time, killed Walkers twenty percent of the time, and dealt with people the rest of the time. Regardless of a Humans v Angels v Walkers war, we still turned against each other. It was just human nature. I liked to keep moving, I never stayed in more than one place very long. I just drifted north with no real destination in mind, and the only weapon I owned was a 9mm I found in the back of a cop car. no ammo, and only one clip though. Nine bullets. I didn't even bother using it, I just used the knife I had, which wasn't much but it got the job done. I'd like to find a machete one day.

"Oh God, please help me!"

The scream of someone in trouble drew me from my thoughts. I quickly looked around for the source of the sound and noticed billows of smoke coming up from some place over trees a little ways away. They flames must be incredibly high, it would probably turn the forest I was in to ashes in a few days. That was my cue to get the hell out of there as fast as possible, but the cry of the person made me hesitate. Should I just leave them to deal with their own mess, or help and possibly get trapped myself?

Well, if I wasn't human, then what was I?

I turned and pulled my pistol out from the side of my jeans and ran towards the smoke, frowning. My decisions were stupid a lot, but preserving a little bit of my humanity was important. I'd want help if I was in that situation too.

I made my way around a tree and slammed face first into someone. I stumbled back but they caught me and drew me closer. Before I could see who it was, the growl escaping their mouth answered my question for me. I threw the butt of my gun into the Walkers face. It's head flew back but it was un-fazed. I struggled to get free from it's grasp but it was holding on tight. I pushed against it's hold and managed to turn it around and slam it into the tree it was hiding behind. I held it against with my left arm and used my right to pull my knife from it's holster and jammed it into it's forehead. The growling cased and it slid to the ground with a thump. I tugged my knife out of it's skull and wiped it off on the Walkers shirt. Putting it back in my holster, I continued my trek towards the person in need. I was getting very close, I could hear the lick of the flames now, and the heat was beginning to make me sweat. I quickly pulled up my sleeves on my purple jacket as best as I could, but I could tell they were going to fall anyway pretty soon. It would have to do for now until I could take off my jacket and rest.

When I broke the tree line, I just had to stop and stare for a moment to take in what I was seeing. It was an entire town that was lit up in flames. It was small, and had a wooden wall built around it, but the wall had already collapsed and I could see the houses inside. Two story and one story houses sitting just waiting to also be egulfed as the fire grew, people peeking through the windows waiting for the torment to be over. Some chose to make a run for it, but were quickly cut off by walkers outside, waiting to pick them off one by one, their eyes managing a single flash of fear as they were surrounded, the Walkers not wasting any time and making agonizingly slow work of their bodies. The people stared and watched in horror helplessly as they were eaten alive, not even raising a hand to the monsters that devoured their flesh. Others were running around desperately, trying to escape the Walkers that were oblivious to the flames. I was a witness to a man that got grabbed as a Walker bit hard on his forearm. He howled in pain and stabbed the thing in the head while it still had it's teeth in him. He only drug them in further and he yelled again, tugging it off his arm. It pulled a chunk of skin and flesh with it as it fell, blood gushing out from his new wound in waves. He stared widely at his bleeding arm before crudely taking his shirt off and wrapping it around, turning and sprinting off into the trees leaving a trail in his wake. I wonder if he knew he was a dead man regardless of how fast his legs could carry him.

"Help me!"

My eyes snapped to the source of the sound that emitted from inside the chaos, calling to me. I hesitated once more, feeling the churn of an internal argument with myself, but the decision seemed so obvious. Swallowing my fear in one enormous gulp, I started towards the walls. Removing my knife from it's resting place, I stabbed a Walker in the chin, tugging it out with a grunt and stepped out of the way as it fell, and jumped over at the last second to grab another one behind it, giving it the same treatment.

I picked my way through a spotted sea of infected former people, finding paths and barely managing to avoid the swipes and chomps of my attackers and making quick work of the ones in my way. Once I reached the end of the wave, I saw the source of the crying for help. A Woman was pinned under a heavy looking chunk of wood. It had already been halfway swallowed by flames, and as they drew near the woman's face was lit in terror. I ran forward and grabbed onto the board on top of her, pulling hard with all of my strength, the wood digging into my skin. She didn't even seem to notice me, her eyes cast over my shoulder. I could see the flames dancing in her eyes.

With one final heave, I let go of the board, making no progress. It was no use, unless I found something to help me I simply wasn't strong enough. I turned and looked around for something to use to help pry the board off and saw a much smaller wooden board propped up against a house not too far away, a few nails scattered on the ground next to it. It looked as if they were right in the middle of building when the place caught on fire. I waved at the woman and pointed towards the house but she continued to ignore me, her face only knowing one expression. I ran towards it regardless, throwing a quick glance over my shoulder to make sure the fire wasn't drawing too close. It was.

I reached the board and hauled it up and onto my shoulder, it's weight pulling me down towards the earth. While I was adjusting it on my shoulder to make sure it was balanced, I glanced around to make sure there were no Walkers nearby, and my sight fell on a single man about a quarter of a mile away. He stood expressionless as he watched the town be consumed by not only the fire, but the dead as well. He had long sandy brown hair that hung over his blank eyes and curled naturally at the collar of his pale greenish button up shirt that was unbottoned and flew without a care with the wave of heat that floated up towards him, making his hair shift slightly. He had a very loose posture, but still managed to stand tall like a warrior after a devastating battle. Even from where I stood, the sadness emitting from him was unmistakable, and almost staggering. Could this be the man that caused the fire?

I shook my head, I had more immediate matters to attend to than to scope out the fire-starter. The fire was already here, we have to deal with it. I ran slightly hunched over back to the woman who had not moved whatsoever, not even to panic. I lodged the board under the larger one next to her arm and pulled down hard on the side I was holding. It lifted slightly, just enough for her to possibly squeeze out from under, but the woman still lie unmoving.

"Get a move on, lady!" I yelled at her, kicking her shoulder softly with my boot. She blinked a few times and looked up at me, realizing the situation, she writhed and slithered out from under the board, kicking as she went. Her movements shook the wood and it began to shift under my hold and the wood began to creak with the effort of holding up such a heavy thing. I held on tighter, feeling the splintered wood break the skin on my palm and the wet stickiness sticking to my hands. The moment she moved her foot from under the board I dropped mine, shaking my hand in slight pain. She stood and looked at me, her eyes glistening from tears. She didn't say anything as she turned tail and ran off towards the tree line. She didn't have to.

I looked to the north and continued forward, dodging Walkers and flames as I ran through the remainder of the camp. Once I jumped over the collapsed wooden fence, I pushed even harder towards the trees. All this commotion was sure to draw dozens of walkers and I was not about to stick around to see this place get any worse.

Being reminded of something, I took a moment to stop and look back to where I last saw the alleged fire-starter, but he was nowhere to be seen. Must be guilty after killing dozens of people, now he wants to run from his decision. Typical.

Shoving him out of my mind, I started again, stop slowing even after I reached the tree line. The red and orange leaves that littered the ground occasionally made me loudly lose my balance as I tried to sprint on them. After several attempts and one painful fall, I gave up and settled on a half-jog, able to more easily keep an eye out to my surroundings and avoid colliding into one of the tall trees that blocked my view and my path at every turn. I slowed to a walk as the faint rays of the setting sun trickled through the near bare branches high above my head. I heaved with heavy breathes, stopping for a moment to catch my breath, placing my hands on my knees.

The snap of a branch made me freeze. I held my breath, drawing my knife. My lungs were screaming for air as I walked slowly around a tree, holding my weapon ready. A pair of hands reached out suddenly and reached for my knife, but I jumped backwards last second but they managed to hit it out of my hand. It stumbled to the ground. The person responsible stumbled forward and fell along with the knife.. They let out a sudden scream when landed on it, the jagged edge stabbing through their pants at an awkward sideways position. They twisted and grabbed onto their now bleeding leg, whimpering and yelling in pain. I quickly drew my gun and pointed it at them, taking a few cautious steps back.

"Who are you?"

I could see now it was a man. He had short brown hair and dull blue eyes that looked almost greenish, like a polluted lake. He glared up at me with tears in his eyes, "You bitch!"

I frowned, "You lunge at me for no reason and I'm the bitch?"

He looked away and growled, grabbing onto his leg and staring at the fresh wound. "I needed your knife. Survival of the fittest sweetheart."

"Says the person who just fell on a knife and now has a gun pointed at his head."

The man grabbed a hold of the knife and tried to tug it out but retracted his hand quickly in shock, throwing his head back and falling backwards at the sudden wave of intense pain. He held his arms out and his fingers were sprawled. I couldn't help but chuckle at his odd expression of pain.

He shot his eyes up at me once more, "You think this is fucking funny? I don't even know if I can walk!"

I shrugged, "Something you should have considered before you ran at me. Now, I want my knife back."

"It's not going anywhere. It's stuck in my leg pretty deep. Not like i'd give it back to you anyway. I need it more than you, you have a gun." His eyes trained on my 9mm, filled with the desire to that it from me. This guy was so self absorbed. Probably why he was still alive.

Feeling agitated now, I walked froward and slammed the butt of my pistol into his forehead. His head flew back and while he was stunned I reached down and grabbed the hilt of my knife with a tight grip and yanked it hard out of his leg. His scream echoed throughout the woods as I did so, but my knife was vital to me. It was worth the attention of the walkers and getting on a dead man's shit list.

He threw a wide variety of swears and threats to choose from as I turned away but I hesitated, looking back, "What happened to that community over that way?"

"Why the fuck should I tell you? It would just be a waste of time since I'm going to kill you."

"Answer the question."

He scowled, trying to stand up but falling right back down when he leaned over on his injured leg. He hissed in pain and just threw his hands up in defeat, "Kitchen fire. Someone forgot to take a fucking cake out of the oven. Can you fucking believe that?

I'm dead because some fat bitch couldn't just eat something else like the rest of us."

"It was an accident?"

"That's what I just said." So that man didn't start the fire.

I spoke, "Was there a man in your community with long-ish brown hair? green shirt?"

He scoffed, shaking his head, "Looks fucking miserable all the time?" I nodded, "Yeah, that guy creeps me out. He's been at our community for all of a week, just staring at everyone and being a weirdo. Kept going on about wanting to leave and go look for something but our leader wouldn't let him. Thought he might be a spy going to get reinforcements. Take what we had."

"He just showed up one day? new guy?" I asked, making sure to glance around to make sure there were no Walkers or people. I wasn't sure why I was asking all these questions. Though, It would be good to see if that man was a threat.

"Yeah. I'd tell you to keep an eye on him, but you know, your impending death and all." He laughed, rocking back and forth with his hand still around his wound.

"What was his name?"

"That's all you're getting out of me. Fuck off."

I rolled my eyes and began walking north again, which fortunately for me was not the same direction as the not-so-fire-starter. It would be best to just ignore him all together, if he was a threat it would be best to just keep my distance.

"Yeah that's right! Run away! You better watch your back!"

I ignored him, continuing my journey to nowhere.


	2. The Trap

It was pitch black now in the forest as the sun had set many hours ago. My legs ached and my back was stiff and my whole body was screaming for sleep, but I refused to stop until I reached the end of the forest, which with my limited view was seemingly endless. The trees stretched in front of me for what seemed like miles, their tall trunks almost mocking me and my pathetic attempt to see past them.

My breathes were coming out ragged and my eyes were heavy as I continued. I knew that if I didn't stop soon I was just going to collapse. I slowed down and began to lower myself to the ground but a metallic crash sound make me freeze. I looked up but could see only trees. Was someone in this forest with me? I stood back up and continued, ignoring the pain in my body and hovering my hand over my knife in it's holster. When I rounded the tree in front of me, I could see the faint trickle of light coming from in front of me, along with the edge of the forest. I had reached the end after all. I pushed forward, peaking past a trunk and began searching for the source of the sound.

It was a single gas station along a road in the middle of nowhere. A rusted possibly once red sign hung on one hinge with faded letters that read what I could only guess said "The Gold Nugget" and two gas pumps that had no gas, I didn't even have to check to know they had already been scavenged completely. Not like I had a car to put gas in anyway. A trash can was lying on it's side below the side, the rotten contents scattered everywhere. That must have been the source of the sound.

I carefully stepped out from behind the tree line and made my way towards the trash can, looking left and right as I crossed the street, feeling relieved when I didn't see any vehicles prowling around. When I reached the building, I crouched low and peeked through the filthy and cracked windows into the building and scanned everything inside. It looked as if not everything had been completely scavenged. Just then my eyes fell on a single water bottle that was lying in the corner against the wall on the floor. I was reminded of my thirst when I noticed it, and I decided to take the risk to go and grab it. Staying low, I snuck to the front entrance and pushed gently on the door. It resisted with a painfully loud screech of rust and metal. My hand instinctively hovered over my handgun, watching carefully for the chance any Walkers heard the noise as well. If there were some in the building, that would have definitely drawn them out.  
I stood and pushed the door open, taking note of my surroundings. The place was covered in filth and decay from human neglect. A few random bits of packaged food littered the shelves and a few more bottles of water lied undisturbed on the floor. I felt a creeping suspicion emerge in my mind, and I kneeled down to the original water bottle I saw through the window. All around the floor around it was what seemed like half an inch caked in dirt, yet the bottle was relatively clean. I picked it up in my hand and examined it, turning it over in my palm and found nearly no filth on it whatsoever. I glanced back down to the spot where it was sitting and saw the same amount of dirt as the spaces around it. That meant that this water had not been here very long. That meant...

This was a trap.

My hand snapped toward my gun but a loud click seized my movements.

"Don't think about it. Stand up slowly with your hands in the air."

I clenched my teeth together in frustration. I knew this was too good to be true. You didn't just stumble upon things like this in the new world. I held my hands level with my eyes and stood up slowly, facing the wall, unable to see the person who had spoken. I stayed still, waiting to see what would be in store for me next.

"Turn around."

I didn't move at first, feeling extreme agitation at being so foolish. I was reluctant to face the person who had outsmarted me so easily and without a fight. Well one thing was for certain. Only one of use was getting out of here alive.

I heard another click, "I mean it! Don't test me, I am not in the mood."

Giving in, I shuffled my feet in no hurry whatsoever, but eventually I turned completely around and kept my eyes towards the floor, running my sights over everything in range, a weapon more specifically. I could see the person's shoes, which were a gross and faded brown color with torn and dirty blue jeans that folded over them carelessly with no order whatsoever. Just of like me waltzing right into this trap with my head in my ass.

"Look at me."

I sighed and finally allowed myself to look at my captor. I raised my head and took a look at his face. It couldn't be...

I blinked, scrunching my eyebrows together, "Hey! You're the fire-starter! You were at the camp!"

He sloppily moved his hair out of his face with his free hand, the other on a pistol, pointing straight at my head. I could see now he had weirdly light brown eyes with flecks of a near gold color. His light brown hair was way too long than what was ethical for this world now. He looked dirty, and defeated. He held a hard and serious expression but his weird eyes screamed a different story. It was actually almost staggering how miserable this bastard looked. He was almost pulling me into depression with him. His hair fell into his eyes again, he raised a hand to push it back.

I giggled a bit, "What? Never heard of a pair of scissors? Even a knife?"

He paused and glared at me, "I don't have a knife. Can't really cut my hair with a gun can I?"

I shrugged, keeping my hands in the air, "Maybe you should try it? Here let me see the gun just close your eyes I promise no funny business."

"You know," he finally successfully cleared his vision, "You've got quite the mouth for someone with a gun pointed right at them."

"This isn't the first time I've been at gunpoint. Won't be the last time." I looked down and shuffled my feet, feeling anxious at being as the same place so long getting nothing done, "What now? You want my food? My knife? Get it over with."

"What makes you think I want your supplies?"

"Don't you?"

He lowered his gun slightly in thought, but quickly snapped out of it, tightening his grip on the trigger. I felt my heart skip a beat for a second before he loosened his grip. Jeez, did this guy even know how to use a gun?

He spoke, "I need help. I'm no fire-starter, lady, that community went to shit without any help from me. I was just looking for help and those assholes wouldn't let me leave. But that's none of your business and it's not your problem. I need an escort."  
I gave a weak half smile, "How sweet. You know, that gun is really making me emotional. Of course I'll help you sweetie, but make sure you keep that pistol trained on me 24/7, it's great incentive."  
He rolled his eyes, his gun staying exactly where it is, "How do I know I can trust you?"

"Oh, you can't. You better believe if you didn't have that gun i'd have been out of here five minutes ago and you'd be dead."

"Not a very big risk taker are you?"

"I'm still alive for a reason, aren't I?"

"It's definitely not your stunning personality."

I snorted, smiling, "At least I'm pretty."

"We all have our opinions." He lowered his gun, putting it into his pocket, raising his hands up, showing he wasn't armed, "Look, I can be trusted, alright? I really need help, this is very important."  
Regardless of whether i'd admit it or not, I was humbled by this man's blind trust in me. It was so bafflingly stupid I couldn't even bring myself to entertain the thought of drawing my own weapon. I lowered my hands slowly and glanced at the weapon in his pocket. I liked to consider myself a little smarter than most of the people I ran into, and my opinion on this situation was no different. This man had tricked me into this trap, he could trick me into trusting him, or even underestimating his worth by this move, and I refused to be fooled again in the same day.

I pulled my weapon out and pointed it right at his face, shaking my head, "That was really stupid, you know that?"

He just sighed and did a little shrug with his shoulders, "For once I put a little faith in humanity. Can't blame a guy for trying."

My stance faltered a bit at his words. Putting faith in humanity was sort of important to me, and that was the sole reason I helped that woman escape a few hours before. I hadn't given much thought to the action, it was just second nature. Nature to help someone who needed it. Was this man really any different? He asked for my help. I gave it to the woman who was trapped under the boards. I'd be a hypocrite to refuse help to this man. But what if I underestimated him? What if this was a trick?

Faith in humanity I suppose.

He was looking at me with a board expression. I gave him a weird look and I swear I saw him stifle a yawn. The man was acting like he was at a meeting with a gun pointed at his head. I almost laughed.

I lowered the gun, sighing as I put it back into the holster and stood up straight. He watched me and raised an eyebrow when I looked at him expectantly.

"Should we hug it out?" He asked, giving me a weak half smile.

I put my hands on my hips and stared at him straight into the eyes as I spoke and laid out how it was going to go, "Okay listen up. I'll help you.. what was it you wanted?"

"An escort."

He cringed a bit, "Not the kind of escort im thinking about, is it?"

"What? No." Then he gave my entire body and inspection, from top to bottom. If I didn't know better, i'd think he was checking me out. He flashed a smile, "Unless..."

"God, don't make me get the gun out again." I shook my head and gave him a hard stare, "If there's even a twitch out of line from you, I will kill you with no hesitation. Where do you need an escort to?"

"Washington."

My eyed widened. We were somewhere in northern California right now. "Washington?! Getting there would take nearly a month!"

He frowned, "Hence why I need some backup."

I pinched my nose and closed my eyes, lost in thought. Pros and Cons.

Pros; It would be good to have backup, it gives me a goal which is good for moral, I'd have someone to talk to so I wouldn't feel so lonely.

Cons; It would take resources I don't have, it leaves way too much opportunity to run into groups and trouble, and it might be a trap.

Weighing my options wasn't really helping. It seemed there were as many negatives as positives, but walking around aimlessly with no goal in mind was dangerous. It gave me no purpose, and it risked me realizing the hopelessness and I might fall into depression, or no be on alert and get killed. I was heading north anyway, and I probably would have ended up in Washington anyway, so it was on the way. I couldn't seem to convince myself otherwise, so once again I let out a deep sigh.

"Yeah, I'll still help you. Don't make me regret this."

His entire face suddenly lit up in surprise and he smiled, "Awesome! No funny business I promise. No more traps."

"Which reminds me," I spoke, "Did you really have to use a trap to talk to me?"

His smile fell and he gave me a look, "Would you have listened otherwise?"

He was completely right. I wouldn't have.

I pointed towards the door and he turned and walked through, I followed close behind. I felt a collection of uneasiness in the pit of my stomach. I knew that this was a mistake, I knew that I was walking right into what might be death, but I also knew somehow that this was important. For not just me, not just to restore my faith in humanity, but somehow, this needed to be done, for the sake of mankind. I let out a chuckle and pushed such absurd thoughts from my head. Thinking you were anything but pointless was a thought only children could afford to entertain, and I was far from a child. The things I had done would always haunt me, but I was strong. I could handle what lied ahead. I had someone to watch my back. Someone I didn't even know the name of now that I thought about it.

I took a moment to ask, "Hey, by the way what's your name? I'm Paragon."

He didn't stop of glance over his shoulder as he continued walking north towards wherever it was he needed to get to, "My name is Gabriel."

Gabriel. Hope that wasn't the name of the man who was going to kill me. I took a deep breath and held my head up high, following close behind the man known as Gabriel, ready to conquer any obstacles that dared to stand in my way. Including him.


End file.
